Human Development Report 2021/22

The report is the third and final installment in a trilogy, following the 2019 report on inequalities and the 2020 report on the risks of the Anthropocene. The 2021/22 report shares insights into how the COVID-19 pandemic, the war in Ukraine, climate change, and the cost-of-living crisis have generated a new “uncertainty complex,” which is reversing human development and unsettling lives globally. It points out that many people feel alienated from their political systems, not to mention the backsliding of HDI for many countries in 2021.

In conclusion, the report emphasizes the need to “double down on human development”. To do so, it recommends policies that focus on “three I’s”: Investments to foster people’s capabilities, and socioeconomic and planetary conditions in which people can thrive; Insurance to protect people and their capabilities during uncertain times; and Innovation to create new capabilities for the future.